Eala continues to make history for Philippines; American Pegula into semis

By Harvey Fialkov

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – It may not have been Breakfast at Wimbledon, but it was certainly a Break-fest at the Miami Open presented by Itaú.

Before coming to Miami on a wild card, 19-year-old Filipino Alexandra Eala was ranked 140^th and had won two WTA level matches without ever getting into a Grand Slam tournament.

However, on a toasty Wednesday afternoon at Hard Rock Stadium, Eala broke the serve of second-ranked Iga Swiatek in eight of 10 games to help forge a stunning 6-2, 7-5 quarterfinal victory over the five-time Grand Slam champion in arguably the most shocking upset in years and in tournament history.

“There is a lot of emotions, definitely,’’ said Ealas, whose parents Mike and Rizza, an uncle and cousin, flew in from the Philippines to share their daughters’ special day. “Happiness has to be on the top of the whole list. I just still haven’t had time to stop and think about it yet, but I’m super, super happy with the win.”

Eala’s run to the semifinals of a Masters 1000 is the most stunning result since then British 18-year-old Emma Raducanu was ranked 150 and roared through 10 matches (including qualifiers) without dropping a set to win the 2021 US Open.

The major difference is Raducanu didn’t face a player in the Top 10 or one who had won a major, while Eala is the second wild card in tour history to knock off three Grand Slam champs in the same tournament.

Down went 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in Round 1. She kayoed reigning Australian Open champion No. 5 Madison Keys in Round 3. Eala then knocked out Swiatek in Round 5.

Eala still has an opportunity to match Svitolina’s record, but it won’t be with Raducanu, who succumbed to the humid conditions and the ferocious groundstrokes of fourth-seeded Jessica Pegula, 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-2 in a late evening clash to reach her 10 Masters 1000 semifinal and third in Miami where she lost to Elena Rybakina in 2022 and Swiatek in 2022.

Pegula, 31, who’s used to the heat after living in nearby Boca Raton for years, is the last American woman alive for the title after 20 began the tournament.

 However, if Eala defeats Pegula then top-seeded three-time Grand Slam champion Aryna Sabalenka could be waiting on Saturday, if she gets past sixth-seeded, feisty Italian Jasmine Paolini at mid-afternoon Thursday in their semifinal. The Belarusian, into her first semifinal in Miami, holds a 3-2 edge over Paolini.

Raducanu, 22, enjoying her best tournament with four consecutive wins for the first time since her US Open run, dropped the first set but was leading fourth-seeded Pegula 5-2 in the second set when she called for the doctor. She clearly was dehydrated and later said she was dizzy, but continued after a medical timeout.

Pegula fought off four set points at 4-5 but Raducanu bounced back to take the tiebreaker winning the last three points, one on a ridiculous, redirected half-volley forehand winner from the baseline.

However, Pegula rode an early break in the third set to her second win over Raducanu in three meetings. She slammed a high 78 percent of first serves and won 74 percent of those points, while saving 5-of-6 break points.

“It’s even better after a tough win at home,’’ said Pegula, who wrote, “It’s humid,’’ on the camera lens after her victory. “I’m happy to be in another semifinal here so I’m hoping the third time is a charm and I can make it to the final. … I thought it was a real high-level match.”

Because Pegula’s match finished after 11 p.m., the tournament decided to postpone the quarterfinal match between Novak Djokovic and Sebastian Korda until Thursday afternoon. It’s actually a rule, but the ATP and WTA supervisors can override it.

Eala joins Azarenka and Henin as the only wild cards to reach the semis in Miami. She’s already the first Filipino to beat a Grand Slam champion and the first from her country to make it this far in a Masters 1000.

The first four games took 30 minutes as both players exchanged breaks after several deuces, but from there Eala began absorbing Swiatek’s trademark cross-court, backhand and redirected them up the line for one of her double-figure winners to win four straight games and the first set.

Swiatek looked lost and at times bent down in anguish as she sprayed 21 of her 32 unforced errors, including 16 off her usually reliable topspin forehand side in the opening set, to just 12 overall errors from Eala.

Swiatek came in on a 38-match win streak against opponents ranked outside the Top 50 and had been 27-2 against left-handers. It was her third career loss to players outside the Top 100 and she’s in the midst of her longest title drought of her career, dating back to last June’s French Open title.

“I didn’t know she’s going to play that flat, but besides that she was really aggressive,’’ said Swiatek, who won just six of 25 points (24 percent, down from her 62 percent average) on her second serve. “She kept her focus. Some of these shots were pretty like out of nowhere.”

“She went all in, she made these returns in and pretty long, and so it wasn’t easy to hit it back. She was pretty loosened up and just went for it. Yeah, she felt the nice rhythm and it helped her.”

Swiatek sprayed her forehand all over Hard Rock Stadium with 16 of her 21 unforced errors in the first set coming off her favorite shot.

Swiatek seemed to right the ship when she finally held serve on her sixth attempt for 2-2. She actually served for the set at 5-4, but at this point her serve was more of an albatross. Eala was crowding the service line and jumping out of her shoes to rip returns back at Swiatek’s toes.

“I like to be aggressive, and those were just some opportunities that I saw that were there,’’ Eala understated. “Just take it early and not to be afraid to miss.”

She immediately broke back for 5-5, held and broke again when Swiatek’s wild backhand sailed long on match point.

A disbelieving Eala stood still with a shocked stare before she placed her hands on her eyes to hold back tears that never came as she smiled toward her family and coaches with Philippine flags flapping in the stands.

“I couldn’t decide either,’’ joked Eala, whose thoughtful answers betrayed her tender years. “I think I was so in the moment, and I made it a point to be in the moment every point that it’s hard to realize what just happened. It’s hard to realize that you won the match. I really tried to soak it all in, because this has never happened to me before, and that’s why I was looking at the screen. You know, I really wanted to keep that moment in my mind.”

Eala had earned $35,000 prior to Miami and now has pocketed at least $332,000. She will not need wild cards to get into any Slams or Masters 1000s for the foreseeable future with her rank soaring to at least 75.

She was asked if her dreams were coming too quickly after winning the 2023 US Open Juniors where she routed current No. 6, Mirra Andreeva, the 17-year-old Russian prodigy, in the quarterfinals and 162^nd-ranked Victoria Mboko (who lost in the second round to Paula Badosa, 7-6 in the third) in the semis.

“I have always been a big dreamer,’’ said Eala, the second teen other than Bianca Andreescu to notch two wins against her first two Top 5 opponents (Swiatek and Keys). “Like I said previously, to win Grand Slams has always been one of the end goals. To become No. 1 has always been one of the end goals. I think that this result came in the right time.

“Being a successful junior doesn’t mean that you’re going to be a successful professional, so I made it a point to work hard every day and to trust that my time would come, and hopefully this is the time.”

Eala hopes her success can help spread the love of tennis in her country.

“That’s the only thing I can do to give back to my country is to help inspire, to inspire change and positive change, to inspire people to pick up a racket, to watch more tennis, watch more women’s tennis,’’ she said.

Just two years ago, Swiatek was a guest speaker at Eala’s graduation ceremony at Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca Spain which explains why Toni Nadal, his legendary nephew’s longtime coach, showed up in Eala’s players’ box.

“It shows that he and the academy have confidence in me,’’ said Eala, who treasures the social media circulated graduation photo of her, Nadal and Swiatek. “I thought I was super lucky to have her during my graduation. Then she even did the whole ceremony with the whole class, tossed the hat, and I was so lucky, because I was beside her.

“I remember that I walked up and she was, ‘Oh, I know you. I have seen you.’  “Yeah, it’s super surreal to think that the circumstances have changed, I’m facing her on court. I’m blessed to have that opportunity.”

A retired Rafa Nadal,won 92 titles, 22 Grand Slams and 36 Masters 1000s, but never won in Miami (5 finals). He can now win this tournament vicariously through this poised, articulate young lady.

Nadal tweeted his congratulations: “We are extremely proud of you Alex. What an incredible tournament! Let’s keep dreaming!”